Norwich Castle, Eastern England

The 11th century would see the castle and cathedral built. The keep is all that remains of Norwich Castle today having been altered but it is one of the few castles where more authentic material remains inside than out.  The castle was refaced in Bath stone between 1834 and 1839, so its entire exterior has changed. Shortly after the Norman Conquest it was decided to rebuild Norwich Castle and at least 98 Saxon homes were demolished to make room of the castle earthworks. Work was begun on the stone keep in 1094 by King William II and completed by his brother King Henry I.  The castle keep had been completed by 1121 and Henry I stayed here over Christmas in 1121. The keep was built using limestone shipped from Caen in Normandy. Originally the lower walls were faced with flint and the limestone was only used on the upper floors. 

Norwich Castle was only the third royal castle to be built in stone after the Conquest, the only older ones being the White Tower, and Colchester Castle.  As Norwich was a royal castle it required a representative of the king to oversee it.  This job of constable was awarded to William the Conqueror’s loyal friend William Fitz Osbern.  The role then passed to Ralph Guader, Earl of East Anglia, he married Fitz Osborn’s daughter Emma.  It was at their wedding feast in 1075 that the new constable conspired to rebel against the king.  When his plan was discovered he fled to Britany leaving is 16-year-old wife to hold the castle against the king in a 3-month long siege.  The castle had been sited to survey the main thoroughfares running through the city.  Although at this time the castle was still a timber fortress it was clearly strong enough with its defences to withstand a 3-month siege. Eventually Emma was forced to surrender and being a relative of the king she escaped punishment but was given only forty days to leave the country or be sentenced for treason.  She went to Brittany to be with her husband Ralph and their possessions in England were seized by the Crown.  They spent the next 20 years in Brittany and Ralph joined the first Crusade to Jerusalem after which they disappear from history. The real victims of Ralph’s ill-conceived plan were the people of Norwich, the city was ransacked by the Kings men and many innocent people were killed and their possession confiscated.  The Domesday survey of 1086 reveals that there were half the number of burgesses (a freeman of a borough) wealthy enough to pay tax and many had fled to other towns, others were financially ruined.  There were abandoned properties throughout the city. Today the castle’s interior is a museum and its Norman arches in the great hall remain intact.

The layout of the new stone keep is thought to be similar to its wooden predecessor. It comprised of two main floors with living spaces in the upper floors and storage in the lower level.  The only entrance being from an external staircase, visitors entered the forebuilding, which was a type of waiting area before they were allowed to enter.  The castle was besieged again and fell to Prince Louis of France in 1216 during the first Barons uprising. From the 14th century the castle’s keep was used as the county gaol until a new gaol was built at the end of the 18th century.